Department for Transport

Loran Navigator System

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the governments of France and Norway about their discontinuing the transmission of Enhanced Loran signals on 31 December 2015, and if not, why not.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Officials continue to discuss with their counterparts in France and Norway the decision by those countries to discontinue Loran transmissions, to understand their reasoning and plans for the disused transmitters.

Navigation

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are funding research into terrestrial enhanced position navigation and timing systems.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty’s Government is researching terrestrial technology that could supply positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) needs. For example, Innovate UK is working with other agencies to research the use of quantum technology for PNT applications. In addition, there is research into technologies that supply only some elements of PNT, including ranging mode and radar absolute positioning.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 10 February (HL5652), what (1) proportion, and (2) volume, of excavated spoil from each of the HS2 Phase 1 construction sites will be transported from them by (a) rail, (b) road, and (c) river.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Excavated material arising from the construction of Phase One of HS2 will be transported along the construction corridor (site haul) where it is reasonably practicable to do so. Where that is not possible, or for movement along longer distances, the material will be transported by public highway, along designated routes. Where reasonably practicable, rail has been considered for the transportation of large quantities of excavated material over long distances. There are currently no plans to move any of the excavated material by river. The approximate quantities and relative proportion of each of these transportation methods, allocated to broad sections of the proposed route is set out in the table below. These figures reflect the assumptions reported in the Environmental Statement deposited alongside the Phase One Bill and, as such, are a plausible worst case in terms of both total volume of excavated material and proportion transport by highway and rail. The project has made a commitment to maximise the amount of excavated material transported by rail and are working to increase the proportion transport by rail and decrease the proportion transported by highway wherever reasonably practicable.(All figures are in million tons and movements may include multiple handling) Site Haul  Public Highway HaulRail HaulCentral London & Metropolitan area16.9  (56%)4  (13%)9.46 (31%)Buckinghamshire Northants & Warwickshire Country areas72.4 (80%)17.9 (20%)- (0%)West Midlands Metropolitan area29.9 (61%)18.9 (39%)- (0%)Total Phase One Routewide119.2 (70%)40.8 (24%) 9.46 (6%)

Home Office

Police

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Chief Constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales are (1) female, and (2) members of the BME communities, and how those figures compare to those on 1 March 2011.

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Chief Constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales have a university degree, and how that figure compares to those on 1 March 2011.

Lord Bates: The Government is clear that increasing diversity in our police forces is not an optional extra. It goes right to the heart of this country’s historic principle of policing by consent. We must ensure that the public have trust and confidence in the police, and that the police reflect the communities they serve.The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of chief officers by gender and ethnicity on the Gov.uk website, using self declared diversity data. As well as chief constables, the chief officer group also includes assistant chief constables and deputy chief constables, and their equivalents in the Metropolitan police and City of London police. The data is provided in the attached tables (The Association of Chief Police Officers referred to in the data has been replaced by the National Police Chiefs' Council).The statistics do not separate chief constables from the chief officer cohort, therefore we are unable to provide a breakdown relating to chief constables specifically.The Home Office does not collect information about how many chief constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales have a university degree.



Police Officers by Gender 2011 and 2015
(Word Document, 57.5 KB)




Minority Ethnic Officers 2011 and 2015
(Word Document, 295.5 KB)

Stop and Search

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in the light of the findings of Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary's recent PEEL: Police legitimacy 2015 report, and the comments by HM's Inspector of Constabulary that "far too many forces were not complying with the Home Office and College of Policing Best Use of Stop and Search scheme, despite all chief constables having signed up to [it]".

Lord Bates: HM Inspector of Constabulary’s (HMIC’s) findings on stop and search powers, particularly compliance with the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme, as published in their National Legitimacy Report, are concerning. The voluntary Scheme was launched fully in December 2014 and all 43 forces, as well as the British Transport Police, signed up to it to demonstrate that their force is using stop and search powers fairly, effectively and in a way that builds community confidence. HMIC found 13 forces non-compliant in three or more components of the Scheme, and a further 19 were found to be non-compliant with at least one. This represents an unacceptable breach of the Scheme’s terms and, accordingly, membership of the 13 forces was immediately suspended on 10 February; the remaining 19 forces not fully compliant have been put on notice.HMIC will inspect forces suspended from the Scheme to assess progress with compliance over the next 6 months. Forces are also required to set out details on how full compliance with the Scheme’s requirements will be achieved as part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s duty to respond to HMIC reports, as set out in section 55 of the Police Act 1996. This information, as well as the findings from HMIC’s follow-up visits to determine the progress made, will inform the decision in the summer on whether to lift the suspension from the Scheme or remove forces altogether.

Asylum: EU Law

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what special steps have been taken to give better effect to Dublin III's family reunion provisions in Italy and Greece, and what further steps they plan to take.

Lord Bates: As announced on 28 January the Government will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), to help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU. We will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation and have UK experts currently deployed in the Greek and Italian Dublin units to assist with the process and transfer of anyone eligible under family unity provisions contained in the Regulation. We continue to liaise closely with EASO to identify and provide resource where it is needed.

Police: Biometrics

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the report on the review of the retention of custody images will be made public.

Lord Bates: The Review of the use and Retention of Custody Images has concluded and will be published in due course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

EU Countries: British Nationals Abroad

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of a decision by the UK to leave the EU for those UK nationals resident in other EU member states.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: There are approximately 2 million UK citizens living, working and travelling in the other 27 Member States of the EU. They all currently enjoy a range of specific rights to live, to work and access to pensions, health care and public services that are only guaranteed because of EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU. Should an agreement be reached to maintain these rights, the expectation must be that this would have to be reciprocated for EU citizens in the UK.

Zhang Kai

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the televised public confession of Kai Zhang prior to formal arrest, indictment or trial; what assessment they have made of what legal assistance he is receiving and what contact he has been permitted to have with his family; what contact the UK authorities have had with him; and what representations they have made to the government of China on his behalf.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain concerned that a number of Chinese lawyers and human rights defenders, such as Zhang Kai, have been arrested, detained, or have simply disappeared since last July. We have raised the cases regularly with the Chinese authorities. In January, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised our concerns directly with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. We supported a public statement by the Delegation of the EU in Beijing on 29 January, expressing concerns about the human rights situation in China, which included the detention of lawyers.We urge the Chinese authorities to release the detained lawyers, including Zhang Kai, and ensure all detainees have access to legal counsel of their choice.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Welsh Government about the (1) the Trade Union Bill in general, and (2) the Trade Union Bill’s application in Wales.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Welsh Government about its position that a number of clauses of the Trade Union Bill relate to devolved issues, and in particular regarding its position that (1) provisions in clause 3 regarding the 40 per cent threshold, (2) provisions in clauses 12 and 13 regarding facility time, and (3) provisions in clause 14 regarding check-off, relate to devolved issues.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the National Assembly for Wales to vote against the Trade Union Bill legislative consent motion on 26 January.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to making concessions on the provisions in the Trade Union Bill that the Welsh Government has argued relate to powers devolved to Wales, in particular (1) clause 3 regarding the 40 per cent threshold, (2) clauses 12 and 13 regarding facility time, and (3) clause 14 regarding check-off.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions (1) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and (2) the Minister of State for Skills, Nick Boles, have had with Welsh Government ministers regarding the Trade Union Bill.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

Trade Union Bill: Wales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what correspondence (1) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and (2) the Minister of State for Skills, Nick Boles, have received from Welsh Government ministers regarding the Trade Union Bill; what replies they have made to that correspondence; and whether they will place copies of such correspondence in the Library of the House.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ministers have engaged with the Devolved Administrations on the Trade Union Bill. As part of our engagement, Nick Boles, the lead Minister for the Trade Union Bill, has received four letters from Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services in the Welsh Government on 20 November 2015, 18 January 2016, 27 January 2016, and 9 February 2016. These letters related to specific aspects of the Bill and on the Welsh Government position on their applicability in Wales. On 5th February 2016 Nick Boles had a telephone conversation with Leighton Andrews on the Bill; and on 4 March, he replied to the letters and has placed a copy of the correspondence in the Library. The Trade Union Bill relates to employment rights, duties and industrial relations, all of which are reserved.

EU External Trade: China

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tariffs are applied by the EU to goods manufactured in China, including electronic components, televisions, computers, medical equipment and small petrol generators.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The tariffs applied by the EU on goods manufactured by China will vary according to the precise product being imported. The EU’s tariff schedule contains in excess of 9000 separate tariff lines on which separate duties are imposed. The table below shows the average Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs imposed by the EU on imports from China for broad product groups. However, in addition to MFN tariffs, additional tariffs may apply to some specific products if anti-dumping or anti subsidy measures are in place. Further details on the tariffs which apply to specific products can be found at the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. Over 200 EU tariffs applied to imports of certain information technology goods and some medical equipment will be eliminated as a result of the successful conclusion in December 2015 of negotiations to expand the Information Technology Agreement.   European Union Most Favoured Nation Tariffs on Imports from non-EU Countries, by Broad Category, Expressed in Percentage TermsProduct GroupImport Duty Expressed  in percentage terms Dairy products42.1  Sugars and confectionery25.2  Beverages & tobacco20.7  Animal products17.7  Cereals & preparations14.9  Fish & fish products12.0  Clothing11.4  Fruit, vegetables, plants10.9  Oilseeds, fats & oils6.8  Textiles6.5  Coffee, tea6.1  Chemicals4.5  Transport equipment4.3  Leather, footwear, etc.4.1  Other agricultural products3.6  Electrical machinery2.8  Manufactures, n.e.s.2.6  Petroleum2.5  Minerals & metals2.0  Non-electrical machinery1.9  Wood, paper, etc.0.9  Cotton0  Source:WTO

UK Trade with EU

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest figures for the UK's balance of trade with the EU.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The latest figures for the UK’s balance of trade with the EU are publically available in the ONS Balance of Payments: Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015 publication.The UK’s balance of trade in goods & services with the EU in 2014 was -£58.8 billion, relating to £230.2 billion in exports and £289.1 billion in imports.

Foreign Companies: Property

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 25 February (HL5950 and HL6117), when their consultations, if any, on amending the rules of property ownership will commence.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: A discussion paper on proposals to require foreign companies to provide beneficial ownership information when purchasing or owning property or bidding for public contracts was published on Friday 4 March. The document has been published here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/property-ownership-and-public-contracting-by-foreign-companies-improving-transparency and copies of the discussion paper have been placed in the libraries of both Houses. 



Discusssion Paper
(PDF Document, 238.97 KB)

Department for Education

Children's Centres

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the national consultation on the future of children’s centres will be launched, and what is the timetable for responses to be received and for them to announce their proposals following the consultation.

Lord Nash: The government is considering its future policy on children’s centres as part of the development of the cross-Government Life Chances Strategy, and plans to publish details in the summer. At that point we will make it clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute.

Ministry of Justice

Victim Support Schemes

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to regulate the activities of individuals who offer support services to victims of crime.

Lord Faulks: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) currently funds a range of support services for victims of crime. Where appropriate, grant agreements require organisations to adhere to the Victims’ Code and the EU Victims’ Directive when providing services for victims and MoJ has the right to terminate grant funding to those who do not comply with these, or other relevant requirements of the grant agreement . Where organisations funded either by MoJ or PCCs are registered charities, they will also be subject to regulation by the Charity Commission.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Television: Regulation

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will make an announcement regarding the future regulatory framework of the independent TV production sector, and what assessment they have made of Ofcom’s recent review of that framework.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Ofcom published their review on the operation of the television production sector on the 23rd December. The Government is considering their recommendations and will make a decision in due course.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Devolution: Sheffield

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the status of the Sheffield City Region Devolution Deal, in the light of the Leader of Sheffield City Council refusing to accept the current Deal; what the areas of disagreement are; and what their position is on each of those areas.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Sheffield City Region devolution deal is a ground-breaking agreement that will see a major transfer of powers and responsibilities, including over transport. Local councils are in the process of ratifying devolution agreements and are working with the Government to ensure the timely implementation of all commitments.

Cabinet Office

Political Parties: Finance

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their planned introduction of votes for life would also mean that British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years could fund UK political parties.

Lord Bridges of Headley: We will introduce a Bill in due course that will make these matters clear.

Department of Health

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to introduce the new Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) process from 1 April and manage the transition from the old CDF in relation to (1) timelines for the publication of Standard Operating Procedures and methodology changes, (2) the number of staff working on NICE appraisals, (3) the number of Appraisal Committee meetings required, and (4) external input required from Economic Reference Groups, clinicians, patient organisations, and manufacturers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England’s Board agreed, on 25 February 2016, a way forward which will see the proposed new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) going live on 1 July 2016. We expect both NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to work together to ensure that both organisations have the necessary capability and capacity to implement these proposals. The NICE Board will be considering the implications of NHS England’s decision at its meeting on 16 March 2015. The Accelerated Access Review is actively engaging with NHS England to ensure alignment between the work of the review on speeding up access for NHS patients to innovative and cost effective new medicines and the CDF.

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the agreement that NHS England and the pharmaceutical industry would share the financial risks of cost over-runs in the Cancer Drugs Fund, why it has been decided that the pharmaceutical industry will carry all of those costs.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision that any overspend in the Cancer Drugs Fund is subsequently paid for entirely by the pharmaceutical industry and not shared between industry and the NHS.

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of proposals that the pharmaceutical industry should pay entirely for overspends in the Cancer Drugs Fund on the number of medicines that the industry puts forward for possible inclusion in that Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England plans to invest in a new £340 million Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) to provide early access to cancer drug indications. Under the new process, any drugs that receive either a draft recommendation for routine commissioning or, where uncertainty exists, a recommendation for use within the CDF, will receive interim funding from the CDF from the point of marketing authorisation. This earlier access to cancer drugs will benefit both patients and the pharmaceutical industry and NHS England believes it is only fair that the pharmaceutical industry makes a contribution if any overspend occurs. NHS England’s impact assessment will not be completed until the detailed outcomes from the current consultation on the future of the CDF are confirmed.